Well, another good article by Mr. Babcock, who is one of the best tech writers in the business. If you want to see the inside of facebook's Prineville, Oregon, data center, there are a number of videos about it on YouTube. http://tinyurl.com/cg9rmgy

If you like data centers, a trip to Oregon is recommended. I've been to Google's data center in The Dalles and to Amazon's facility in Boardman, though I observed them from the outside not inside. Flying into Portland, driving along the Columbia River Valley where the wind turbines are spinning, and a side trip to Mt. Hood make for a great few days. I also rafted and fished in the Deschutes River. Land, sun, water, and wind -- you can see why they build data centers there.

This account really demonstrates where the rubber of our digital lives meets the road. Great to see so many green initiatives coming together. It's pretty obvious that environmentalism and good old-fashioned capitalism -- the drive for efficiency and competitive advantage -- go hand in hand. If Facebook is as willing to share its data center breakthroughs as it has been its Open Compute Project server breakthroughs, the entire industry will benefit.

Our latest survey shows growing demand, fixed budgets, and good reason why resellers and vendors must fight to remain relevant. One thing's for sure: The data center is poised for a wild ride, and no one wants to be left behind.